by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

Just when it looked like Clowney's summer was about to take off â?? did you see that hit he delivered in the Texans' preseason game against the Falcons? â?? Clowney found himself back on the sideline, back in a navy blue sweatsuit instead of pads and helmet.

Clowney missed time earlier this summer after having surgery to repair a sports hernia. Now he was being held out as a precautionary move after going helmet-to-helmet with a Broncos player during practice earlier in the week.

Consider it a minor setback in a summer that has seen Clowney quietly exist in the shadow of the first-round pick the Texans didn't take (see: Johnny Manziel) while learning from J.J. Watt, one of the NFL's pre-eminent defensive players.

But with limited game action in the preseason, we're left to mostly just imagine what could be once the Texans finally get Watt and Clowney on the field together for extended action.

"We'll see. When the regular season rolls around, that's when you'll be able to tell," Watt told USA TODAY Sports Saturday night.

Texans safety D.J. Swearinger has a pretty good idea of what it might look like. Swearinger was the starting free safety at the University of South Carolina when Clowney arrived in 2011 with all the swagger of the nation's No. 1 prep recruit. That first year in Columbia, Clowney played on a line that included another future first-round pick, Melvin Ingram, and another NFL draft pick, Devin Taylor. Clowney didn't have to be the star then, but he changed the Gamecocks defense.

"I was telling these guys way before the draft, 'Bro if we get Clowney, bro, we are going to do it,' " Swearinger told USA TODAY Sports. "I think we're going to force turnovers, and him and (Watt) getting in quarterbacks' faces, we're going to have more chances for interceptions."

The Denver Broncos got a glimpse of what could be, too.

It was the combination of Clowney rushing from the right side of the Texans defense and Watt providing pressure up the middle that helped get Denver quarterback Peyton Manning so riled up after a non-padded practice last week. Watt terrorized every Broncos' offensive lineman â?? particularly frustrating right tackle Chris Clark â?? and Clowney earned respect from Denver after speeding around star left tackle Ryan Clady on consecutive plays during a two-minute drill.

Manning fumed after that session ("We stunk," he said), but Clady, a two-time all-pro widely regarded as one of the NFL's best pass protectors, ended the week with nothing but praise for Clowney.

"He definitely is a good player," Clady said. "He's fast, and it shows in practice and on film."

Watch Clowney at practice (when he is participating) and there are two things about him that are striking: He physically looks like an extreme version of an elite NFL player, all shoulders and muscles and hair; and his willingness to work. Watching this against the Broncos was especially interesting, with Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, two of the league's most feared pass rushers, on the other sideline. Clowney is like a freakish combination of both â?? 2 inches taller than Miller, 10 pounds heavier than Ware, but at least as strong and fast as either of them.

"I think he definitely has everything and more," Miller said. "He has a ton of potential."

But Miller, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft in 2011, nine picks ahead of Watt, said reaching that potential will come through maturity and experience. Clowney was criticized during his time at South Carolina and then before the draft for his work ethic, but Swearinger said he has watched Clowney learn to become a good practice player during his first few months with the Texans.

That certainly could be Watt's influence. Early in a practice last week, while the rest of the Texans either worked on special teams or watched punt drills from the sidelines, Watt and Clowney were on another field. Watt was as much the teacher as line coach Bill Kollar, patiently demonstrating to Clowney different ways he could use his hands to fight off offensive linemen.

"Every day, we work a little something," Watt said. "As you've seen in games, he's a very talented player. I just try and teach him a couple things I've learned in my time in this league, and ways we can help each other, because I really think it can be a lot of fun."

Clowney's week against the Broncos got cut short Wednesday, after he banged heads with Denver tight end Jacob Tamme during a 9-on-7 drill. Clowney left practice that day but did not receive extensive medical treatment. The Texans held Clowney out of a light practice Thursday and shelved him for Saturday's game in which most defensive starters only played until halftime. (Others, such as Watt, exited earlier.) Because Clowney was deemed to be injured, he was not made available for interviews.

"It's definitely tough, especially playing against the Denver Broncos, a competitive team that played in the Super Bowl last year. I know he wanted to try to sack Peyton (Manning)," Swearinger said. "But it's all good, he'll be back. He's got to get well."